I have to say that I never feel sorry for people who do the above and have malware and Trojans and lose everything.

If a hard copy is available to buy when I want to see something, 99.99% of the time, I would have bought it, but when a TV show, for example, is only broadcast in one country, then not shown or sold anywhere else for months, or even longer, I have no hesitation finding it somewhere else to view. And I echo Daisy Goat's comment about lending books & other media.

Out of curiosity for those so scornful of torrents. Have you ever borrowed a book? Or bought a second hand one?

Did you pay the author a royalty? Do they know you read their book?

Did you read? Illegal downloads, those that link and thus download from a copyright are doing it illegally. If you are downloading where there is no copy right I have no problem. I used to work in books, no way would I illegally copy a book. Actually since working in that area I made sure that I always did the 100% right thing by the music/movie/download business.

Yes I read. The First Sale Doctrine allows us to give books away and borrow from each other without infringing on any copyright laws.

But libraries now "loan" digital books and this is not within The First Sale Doctrine as it requires making a digital copy. Thus is firmly in the grey area for infringement and is subject to constant discussion and questioning currently as in the simplified sense it is illegal.

HURRY, ENTRIES CLOSE TODAY! A magical hour of storytelling and sing-alongs with Julia from her best-loved storybooks, including The Gruffalo, What the Ladybird Heard, Room on the Broom and The Snail and the Whale. Win Melbourne, Geelong & Sydney tickets.